Thermostats for operating climate control systems are often provided with one or more indicator lights for indicating the status of the climate control system. For example, indicator lights are provided on some thermostats to indicate that the air conditioning is operating or that the furnace is operating. The appropriate number of indicator lights depends upon the size and type of climate control system (e.g. single stage, multi-stage, or heat pump) that is operated by the thermostat. From a user standpoint, it is confusing to have indicator lights that do not function or do not relate to the particular user's climate control system. From a manufacturing standpoint, it is expensive to manufacture a plurality of different thermostat housings to accommodate different thermostats with different numbers of indicator lights. Each different housing configuration requires a different mold, and increases the number of parts that must be maintained in inventory.